Genre Guesstimation – An American Tail – Fievel Goes West (1991)

The idea behind this feature (Genre Guesstimation) is for me to watch a bunch of new movies (or ones that I haven’t seen many times) from the chosen monthly GG genre in order to expand my knowledge of movies within that particular genre.

This month’s genre has been chosen by Emily Slade of Why This Film Podcast and we will be reviewing our favorite Non-Disney Animated Films of the 90’s.

Please get me your submissions by the 25th of Dec by sending them to nondisneyemily@movierob.net

Tnx Emily!

Try to think out of the box!

Let’s see if I felt that this movie would be worthy of being in the company of my others favorite movies in the genre of Non-Disney Animated Films of the 90’s……..

“Just remember, Fievel – one man’s sunset is another man’s dawn. I don’t know what’s out there beyond those hills. But if you ride yonder… head up, eyes steady, heart open… I think one day you’ll find that you’re the hero you’ve been looking for. ” – Wylie Burp

Number of Times Seen – 1 (9 Dec 2021)

Brief Synopsis – Fievel and his family move to the west after being scammed by an untrustworthy cat.

My Take on it – Greta idea that isn’t presented well enough. The film’s story lags far too much and isn’t as interesting as the original movie was. The film brings back characters that we already know along with some new ones along the way that add a bit of humor to some of the situations here. The animation by Don Bluth is spectacular as always, but without a better story, the animation isn’t able to keep things more enjoyable and powerful.

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – In an interview with the RubberOnion Animation Podcast in January 2016, Don Bluth claimed that following the release of An American Tail (1986), Steven Spielberg sent Kathleen Kennedy to their studio in Ireland to propose making a sequel but to do it for less than the original’s $9million. Studio advisor Morris Sullivan told Bluth that they could not do it for less than the original’s budget. According to Bluth, Kennedy asked him “Are you sure you want to say no?” and Bluth replied “I think we have to say no.” Bluth states that Spielberg then animating the film at his Amblimation studio in London ultimately cost “a heck of a lot more” than if the Sullivan Bluth studio had done it. (From IMDB)

Genre Grandeur Worthy? – Not at all. The original was much more powerful and this one limps along despite having great characters.

Rating – BAFTA Worthy (6/10)